Glimpses
by only-more-love
Summary: Booth and Bones unwind at Wong Foo's. An extra scene that takes place before The Woman in Limbo. X Booth and Brennan x


**Disclaimer:** Bones and Booth belong to Fox, not me.

**Author's Note:** This is my first foray into Bones fic. Just testing the waters with a little one-shot. I would love to hear any comments you might have – critical or not. Thanks for taking the time to read this.

Booth forked one last bit of apple pie into his mouth before leaning back against the booth. Sid made the best apple pie in DC. Sweet, but not too sweet, with a light, flaky crust that went down easy with a cold glass of milk. Eyes closed, Booth patted his hands over his stomach and heaved a contented sigh. When he opened his eyes, he found Bones watching him, a small smile playing about her face. As their eyes locked and Bones realized he'd caught her watching him, her lips firmed and a slight vertical crease appeared between her dark eyebrows.

"If you continue to eat like that, you'll get fat."

Predictably, whenever she felt uncomfortable with him, she went on the offensive. Booth flashed her his best charm smile -- the one she didn't yet realize he saved for just her. "Aww, Bones. I didn't know you cared."

"I don't." Temperance shrugged, the picture of nonchalance. "But you may have difficulty chasing down suspects if you have an excessive amount of abdominal adipose tissue." She paused before going in for the kill. "Perhaps you should give me a gun. Then I can defend myself properly, and you can consume as much apple pie as you like." It was a perfectly rational argument.

"Don't you worry about my abs. I work out, eat my vegetables, and drink my milk. I'm not getting a gut. A little dessert never hurt anyone." Sitting up straight, Booth narrowed his eyes at his partner. He pointed his right index finger at her. "And no gun for you. That's why you have me."

Bones rolled her eyes and pouted.

"Trust me, you're in good hands." Booth leaned forward, extending his right arm toward Bones. "Feel," he said.

"Feel what?"

Booth sighed. "My guns."

Bones' eyes widened and her mouth dropped open. "You're carrying more than one gun, but you won't even let me have one?"

"No, no, no. Feel my _guns_," he replied, inclining his head toward his arm.

"I don't know what that means."

"My bicep, Bones. Feel it."

"This is so juvenile," she complained, her blue-gray eyes narrowed in irritation.

"I get it. You're scared." Booth nodded sagely and pulled his arm back. The urge to tease her, just to watch her puff up with righteous indignation was too strong to resist. "If you touch me, you might have to admit you're attracted you to me."

For just a moment, he worried that she was going to poke him in the eyes like she had done to Benoit, back in New Orleans. But if he knew Bones, she wouldn't be able to resist his challenge. He was right. She huffed and leaned across the table toward him, chin raised and expression outraged. "I am _not_ scared." Her left hand hovered over his right arm. "And I am definitely _not _attracted to you."

With that, her hand came to rest on his right bicep. The heat of her skin swiftly penetrated the thin fabric of his dress shirt, as he'd abandoned his suit jacket on the booth next to him long ago. Booth suppressed a shiver as the simple touch reverberated through him. Then Bones' grip tightened slightly as she squeezed his arm. His muscles tensed in response, but he otherwise remained still.

His gaze slid down to where her hand lay on his arm and then up to her face, which was dangerously close to his. Close enough that he caught the faint scent of the red wine she'd been drinking, as her warm breath fanned across his face. He revised his opinion; there was nothing simple about the touch. Nothing simple about Bones. Nothing simple about the emotions he saw swirling in the depths of her eyes before he broke the moment. They were poised on the razor edge of a cliff. She wasn't ready to jump off. Hell, maybe he wasn't either. "Careful Bones, you're drooling."

She snorted and released his arm, sitting back down. Clearing her throat, she said, "While I will admit you have decent musculature, it's not that impressive." Once again her eyes were opaque and shuttered. Only the light pink flush still staining her otherwise pale cheeks hinted at what he'd glimpsed in her eyes just a moment ago.

Disappointment arced through him at her literal and figurative retreat. But then he realized how lucky he was to be allowed even that tiny glimpse into her. There had been a lot of those glimpses lately, he silently reminded himself. He would never forget the way she'd clung to him after he'd rescued her from Kenton in that dingy warehouse. Or the way her eyes had danced when she'd admitted that she really should be nicer to him. The pure, unguarded warmth of her smile in that moment had made his breath catch.

Remembering it, Booth smiled. Nodding once, he slid out of the booth and stood. He fished a couple bills out of his wallet and laid them on the table. Bones protested, but he silenced her with one finger pressed lightly against her lips. "I've got it. There's a new Mexican place I've been wanting to try. You can take me to lunch there next week."

Bones laughed and let him take her hand to help her out of the booth. "Oh, you mean you'll pay tonight, and I get to pay for lunch at the very expensive restaurant that just opened."

"Hey, I'm all for equality, Bones," he replied. Booth slung his jacket over his shoulder and called goodbye to Sid as he and Bones left Wong Foo's. Sid's smooth chuckle followed them as they stepped out through the doors and into the warm July night.


End file.
